FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wears a face mask as he attends a session of the lower house of parliament on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rome, Italy April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday that European Union leaders had made “great progress” towards an acceptable economic response to the coronavirus crisis.

In a Facebook post after an EU leaders video conference, Conte said a “Recovery Fund” to be set up by the European Commission must be large enough to allow the countries worst hit by the epidemic “to protect their social and economic fabric.”

“We have made great progress, unthinkable until a few weeks ago,” Conte said.